Compact three diameter knot for flexible or slippery filaments



June 28, 1960 J. NORTON 2,942,904

COMPACT THREE DIAMETER KNOT FOR FLEXIBLE OR SLIPPERY FILAMENTS Filed Dec. 31, 1957 INVENTOR J'ohn Marion ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofice Patented June 28,

COMPACI THREE DIAMETER KN T FOR FLEXIBLE OR SLIPPERY FILAMENT S John Norton, Darwen, England, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Leesona Holt Limited, a corporation of Great Britain Y Filed Dec. 31, 1957, Ser. No. 706,411

Claims priority, application Great Britain June 7, 1957 *4 Claims. (11. 289-1 The object of the present invention is to tie two ends of textile yarn or thread or synthetic filament together in such a way as to produce the smallest possible knot which is also locked and not liable to slip.

For convenience in the following description the term yarn will be used, but it is to be understood to mean cotton or wool yarn or thread or synthetic filament.

It is desirable in piecing together two broken ends of yarn that the knotshall be as inconspicuous as possible and this is particularly so in relation to woollen yarns used in knitting, as a knot in the'yarn shows up as a defect in the article being knitted, and further presents an obstacle to the free passage of the yarn through any guide as when used in a knitting or other machine.

The smallest knot at present in use is the standard weavers knot, but this is not always reliable for use with slippery and difiicult yarns, e.g., woollen yarns, for which a fishermans knot is generally used, but this can be larger than a weavers knot.

A standard weavers knot when viewed flat occupies a space equivalent to four diameters of yarn.

According to the invention a knot for two ends of yarn is characterised in that each yarn forms a closed loop around the other yarn and its tail is located between the two loops and against its own body.

. The knot aforesaid may be furthercharacterised in that in one form the two tails project between the two loops in the same direction and are crossed so that each is trapped by its own body against the opposite loop, and in another form the two tails project between the two loops in opposite directions and do not cross.

A knot produced according to the present invention does not exceed three diameters of yarn in transverse section and is the smallest possible knot that can be produced to tie two ends of yarn securely together. In addition the knot is positively locked and any tendency to slip even with slippery yarn, e.g., woollen yarn, is reduced to a The main cause of slippage in knotting two ends of woollen yarn together is the elasticity of woollen yarn which tends to become attenuated when pulled in opposite directions thereby causing difficulty in obtaining a firm knot during the tying operation.

Further in the case of artificial filaments such as nylon thread the slippery nature of the thread renders it extremely diflicult to obtain a tight knot. In these circumstances it may be found advantageous to use an alternative form of knot in which at least one of the yarn ends to be tied forms two closed loops around the other yarn end.

In order to simplify the description of the method of tying two ends of yarn into a knot according to the present invention, and to show as clearly as possible how the knot is produced, reference will be made to the accompanying drawings, in which for clearness, the yarn is drawn to an exaggerated thickness.

For the purposes of comparison and to show the problem which has been solved by the present invention, three types of knot commonly used in the textile trade are illustrated and which may be tied by mechanical means.

Figure 1 is a dog knot; Figure 2 is a weavers knot; Figure 3 is a fishermans knot; Figures 4 and 5 showtwo stages in the formation of a knot which is the subject of the present application; Figure 6 is a side view of the knot shown in Figures 4 and 5; Figure 7 is a plan view of the knot shown in Figures 4 and 5; Figure 8 is a side view showing the loop formation of a modified form of the knot shown in Figure 7; Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure 8 with the knot completed; and Figures 10, 11 and 12 show a modified form of knot, in which the tail of year yarn end projects from the same side of the knitted yarn.

Fig. 1 illustrates what is possibly the quickest and easiest knot to tie, that is a dog knot which is used in the woollen and jute trade. In the woven fabric both tails appear on the same side of the body of the knot, which has obvious advantages where the knot is removed on the inspection table. As will be seen however, this knot is bulky.

Fig. 2 illustrates a weavers knot, the most commonly used knot in the textile trade and to the present the smallest knot made. Here it will be observed that one tail stands up from the body of the knot and the other tail lies approximately parallel with the running yarn. This knot presents four diameters of yarn in transverse section as indicated by the numerals 1, 2, 3, 4.

The weavers knot, obviously good for most cotton yarns will not hold in woollen weaving yarns, in fact, in many such yarns an ordinary weavers knot will not hold even when tied and tightened by band.

Fig. 3 shows a fishermans knot, in which it will'be seen that two half knots are formed which pull up against each other as tension is applied to the running yarn.

This is, so far, the most successful knot which canbe made by a mechanical device, it is however bulky, there being four diameters of yarn in transverse section also indicated by the numerals 1, 2, 3, 4.

A knot produced according to the present invention is illustrated in Figs. 4 to 7 inclusive and isthe smallest knot possible for tying two ends of yarn together.

Referring to Figs. 4 to 7, the references A and B respectively indicate the two ends of yarn to be tied together and for ease in identification the yarn A is shown hatched.

In the first stage of forming a knot according to this form of the invention, the end A of yarn is passed around behind the yarn B, then in front of the yarn B and behind itself so forming a loop C and a tail D, see Fig. 4. In the second stage the end B of yarn which is already through the loop C is passed in front of, over, and behind the yarn A and hrough the opening formed by the two yarns and in front of itself to produce a loop E and tail F, see Fig. 5. The tails D and E are held and the yarns A and B are pulled in opposite directions, as indicated by the arrows, to tighten the knot, see Figs. 6 and 7, in which it will be seen that the tails D and F are standing in opposite directions at right-angles to the running yarn. This knot is most suitable for doubling purposes and can be used on all cotton yarns. The knot is also advantageous in the knitting section of the textile industry, as it will permit very free passage of knotted yarn through the needle and block on a knitting machine.

In Figures 8 .and 9 parts corresponding to those described with reference to Figs. 4 to 7 are indicated by the same reference characters distinguished by the addition of the exponent numeral 1.

As seen in Fig. 8 the yarn end A1 forms two closed loops Cl, C*.

. In Figures 10, 1.1., 12 parts corresponding to those described With reference to Figs. 4 to 7 are indicated by the same reference letter distinguished by the addition of the exponent numeral 2. r Fig. 10 illustrates the first stage in the formation of the modified knot. Fig. 11 illustrates the second stage and Fig. 12 shows aside view of the completed knot.

-In the first stage of forming the modified knot the end AZ of yarn is passed over and around the end B2 and then through the opening produced by the two ends, so forming a loop C2 and a tail D2, see Fig. 10. In the second stage the end 132 of yarn which is already through the loop C2 and behind the tail D2 is passed first over and then behind the yarn end A2 then'over itself and behind the tail B2, thereby producing a loop E2 and a tail F2, see Fig. 11.

The tails D2 and F2 are held and the ends A2 and B2 are pulled in opposite directions, as indicated by the arrows, to tighten the knot, see Fig. 12.

It will be seen from Fig. 12 that the completed knot occupies only the space of three diameters of yarn in transverse section, asindicated by the numerals 1, 2, 3.

The tails D2 and B2 are both on the same side of the knotted yarn and are crossed as may be clearly seen in Fig. 11.

In the first stage of forming a knot according to the invention the end .A of yarn is passed over and around behind the end .B and then through the opening produced by the two ends, so forming a loop C, and a tail D, see Fig. 4. V

a The knot is proof against slipping with any kind of yarn and is particularly advantageous when employed with knitting wool as the smallness of the knot renders it much less conspicuous in a knitted article than is an ordinary weavers knot. The effector crossing the tails is that each tail crosses the loop of the opposite yarn in a manner similar to one end of a Weavers knot and in consequence tension in the yarn causes each tail 'part of both yarns to be effectively trapped in each opposite loop soas to reduce any risk of slip.

Comparing the knots shown in Figs. -1, 2 and 3 with the knots shown in Figs. 6, 8 and 12, it will readily be seen that the new knot is appreciably smaller and more compact than even the standard weavers knot. Apart from the smaller appearance of the new knot the smaller size has an important advantage where the yarn'is' required to pass through any guide, as when used in a knitting or other machine.

A further advantage of the knots produced according to any of the ways described, is obtained in re-winding yarn from one package to another, as is sometimes required in further processin'gof the yarn.

When yarn in which broken ends have been tied together with ordinary weavers knots is being wound from one yarn parkageonto another yarn package it frequently happens that a knot in the yarn is trapped in the clearer and the yarn is broken so necessitating rej'tying.

When yarn, the broken ends of which have been tied together with any one of the knots described-according to the invention, isbeingre-wound from one package to another, the smallness of the knots allows the yarn to pass the clearer without being trapped and breakage of the yarn is avoided.- i

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the invention provides a locking non-slipping knot of absolute minimum size for tying two ends of yarn together, the advantages of which are obvious.

Iclairri: 1. A knot for joining two ends of yarn characterised in that each yarn end for-Ins a closed loop around the other yarn end and its tail is located between the two loops and againstits own body.

2. A knot as claimed-in claim 1 further characterised in that the two tails project from between the two loops in opposite directions and do notcross. V I 3. A knot as claimed in claim l,- further characterised in that the two tails project from between the two loops in the same direction and are crossed so that each is trapped by its own body against the opposite loop.

4. A knot as claimed in claim 1 further characterised in that at least one of the yarn ends to be tied forms two closed loops around the other yarn end.

References Cited in the file of this patent Encyclopedia of Knots, 3rd edit-ion, by Raoul Graumont and John Hensel, Cornell 'Mar'it-ime Press, N.Y.,

' 1945., Fig. 152, Plate 3 3, page 76. Fig. 143, Plate 7, page mam-t... 

